Los Angeles - -Recognizing the highly successful partnership between Metro, Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) and Community Career Development (CCD), Stefan Chasnov, (Metro’s deputy executive officer of human relations), spoke at a recent graduation ceremony for the Metro Bridge Academy, where he also acknowledged the class, congratulating them for their teamwork in supporting each other through the training. It's noteworthy that 100 percent of the original students graduated from the three-week course.

The class included over 85 hours of contextualized customer service skills, training for transit careers and lifelong learning skills such as time management (study and test taking strategies for Pre-Trip Inspection, Fare Media, and Metro’s Terminology). Additionally, the classroom and field discussions included key bus preparations and DMV for class B permit ( Passenger Endorsement, General Knowledge, and the 9 Air Brakes).

Included in the audience were over one dozen high-ranking Metro officials as well as the president of LAVC, Alma Johnson-Hawkins, who addressed the highly successful partnership the college shares with its partners. Speaking directly to the graduates, the president stressed the importance of supplementing their workforce readiness with the continuation of their educational goals.

Following tradition, Michael Dolphin (Division Chief of the Los Angeles and Ventura Workforce Services Division of the State of California’s Employment Development Department) saluted the class’s veteran, former Marine Davon Daniels.

Also on the dais was Lennie Ciufo, Director of Job Training, who reported about the Mentor Ambassador Program, a project designed by Job Training to continue supporting the training as the graduates pursue their next step, seven weeks of Operations Central Instruction training.
The Mentor Program for the individuals in previous cohorts that were tracked had a 100% success rate.

The Metro Bridge program was designed several years ago by LAVC in cooperation with Metro to meet the agency’s needs. Offering an alternative way of entering into employment as a bus operator, it has been termed a unique "on-ramp" to success.